Happy delicious, magnificent, meaningful, marvelous, magical, mystic, manifesting, mirthful Monday! Phew! How was that for alliteration? Halloween and Samhain are upon us. Can you smell the difference in the air?
I love, love, love Halloween (or as I refer to it Samhain, pronounced Sow-een)! I love the costumes, the pumpkin carving – which we did on Saturday and ended up with some very cool pumpkins. I love the crispness of the air in the morning, the smell of wood smoke late at night from chimneys near by, the crunch of the leaves under my boots as I go yomping about. I love having hordes of little people who are dressed as faeries, princesses, warriors, ninjas and a myriad of other delights knocking at the door hollering “Trick or Treat!” When my kids were smaller and would go out with pillow case clutched in hand to gather farrrrrr too many sweeties, their enthusiasm and delight was positively contagious. As the mumma I was also able to impose a “mumma tithe” on the sweeties, so I would receive 10% of all the mini chocolate bars (the mini Mars bar being my favourite!) Nom, nom, nom.
At the time that most of us celebrate Halloween it is also the festival of Samhain, the third and final Harvest festival where we celebrate with fire, eating glorious food, and honouring the dead. In many places, Samhain coincides with the end of the growing season. Vegetation dies back with killing frosts, and therefore, literally, death is in the air. This contributes to the ancient notion that at Samhain, the veil is thin between the world of the living and the realm of the Dead and this facilitates contact and communication. This is also the Celtic New Year.
Now people can get rather tweaked when we talk about death, but if we look to Nature that is what is happening in the Northern Hemisphere. The trees are releasing their leaves and going into a more dormant state, the ground is getting colder and harder, and we are starting to turn inward. As we turn inward there is often a reflecting process as to what is working for us and what isn’t. To me (as someone who used to get tweaked about the word Death), it’s just a release, a release of an idea, a habit, a belief etc. The glorious energy that Samhain brings is a delicious inward turning of mystery, magic and huge potency!!! (Now doesn’t that sound absolutely delicious – far better than a mini Mars bar!)
There are many glorious celebrations and rituals that you can do to celebrate and honour Samhain.
Go for a nature walk – celebrate the cycles of life that nature shows us. Breathe in the glorious colours of Autumn and allow them to imprint into your memory bank,
Make an ancestor altar – Gather photographs, heirlooms, and other mementos of deceased family, friends, and companion creatures. Arrange them on a table, dresser, or other surface, along with several votive candles. Kindle the candles in their memory as you call out their names and express well wishes. Thank them for being part of your life.
Renovate (yes I said that) – Select an area of your home or life as a focus. Examine it. Re-organize it. Release what is no longer needed. Create a better pattern. Celebrate renewal and transformation.
Bonfire Magic. Kindle a bonfire outdoors when possible or kindle flames in a fireplace or a small cauldron. Write down an outmoded habit that you wish to end and cast it into the Samhain flames as you imagine release. Imagine yourself adopting a new, healthier way of being as you move around the fire clockwise.
Offer Food. As you make your dinner on Samhain, put together a plate of food for your ancestors, set it out at the table and give huge thanks for all the gifts and wisdom that have come to you through your ancestors, your lineage.
Somebody asked me the other day where the tradition of carving pumpkins comes at this time and I was able to regale them with the “Tale of Stingy Jack and the Jack O’Lantern”, now if you have never heard it you should go give it a read, it’s a fun one to share with kids as well.
Okay, so with visions of pumpkins dancing in your head, the smell of crisp Fall air in your nose and the feel of crunchy leaves under your feet, let’s get on with the reading!
When I asked the cards who would like to come and guide at this delicious time I was tickled to see that the Oracles of Shadows and Light chose to come. Now if this is a new to you deck, let me share a little bit about it. Wisdom for Misfits, Mystics, Seekers, and Wanderers. Bittersweet…Unheard…Unconventional…Rebellious…Cheeky…Whimsical…Invisible. They’re not the words you often hear associated with the spiritual world, are they? Nevertheless, some of the most spiritual beings who have ever lived are those who have been most at odds with what we call the mainstream. They do not fit in. They have had moments of despair. And they know being truthful, and being real, is one of the greatest strengths and spiritual paths of all! They ask you to step out from the shadows, to no longer hide your light away, and to consult with an oracle that acknowledges your individuality and strange genius! How’s that for a warm welcome?
The crystals that chose to join us are Smoky Quartz – a great stone for grounding, and protecting from negative energy. Howlite – a lovely stone of awareness, and last but not least, Indigo Gabbro – great for intuitive learning.
This week, there is no guided visualisation, thus, I invite you to gently call back all the pieces of you that you might have left at the coffee store, the school, in your car, at your desk and breathe them all back to you. As you breathe, see yourself filled up with glorious gorgeous white light and let it pour through you and out your toes. When you feel settled in your body, invite in the energy of Samhain, the wisdom of the ancestors, the thinning of the veil and gently ask them to guide you as you pick the card or cards that resonate for you.
Did you remember to pick?
Let’s go see who wants to guide you this week.
WINGED SEER
The Winged Seer is an oracle angel: a being who can see the weavings of energy and thus the way events are set to unfold if the current energies and paths are followed. She then sends you your messages clairvoyantly, through your ability to see clearly, although your visions may seem anything but clear. As you grow to trust your own clear-seeing moments, you will have brighter and brighter flashes of insight, and you will be able to see exactly what is going on within a situation, in a flash.
As so many people hide the truth, even from themselves, it can be hard to receive a visit from me, because I will help you see when someone is camouflaging and half-telling truths, and you will also have insights that seem to come from supernatural sources. It is as if you have changed sight; you can see further, higher, and more deeply within. You will experience flashes of the future and sudden understandings of the past, and you will be able to foretell likely outcomes. I am the eye of Ra, re-creating your future, and the Adrinka, the protective eye, that watches over you while you sleep, and if you follow through on what you now clearly see, there will be illumination, victory, and wisdom. Trust that sacred Sight.
You have asked for more information, asked to discover what you need to know. Now that the information has come to you, you must be courageous and take action based on what you cannot “logically” explain! It is important, now more than ever, to be honest about what you can see – but most of all, to be honest with your own self.
WITCH AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Storms fly about her, electrical whips crack through the heavy air with their bites of fire, and she sits among them, hugging her hourglass, holding everything together till the force creating the change has done its work. When the Witch at the End of the World makes her appearance to you, you will know that something’s time has come. There can be no more delaying, for the change has begun. So the best thing for you to do now is prepare for this change. Find solutions to challenges that will come up when the change comes. You will be fine, by the way, and all will be well, but there will be a time of seeming chaos and difficulty. If you are prepared, and ready to let go and change, and let something end, the little witch’s countdown will not affect you as it will affect others who refuse to acknowledge that changes are coming and become fearful at their inevitable approach. There is nothing to fear, but plenty to prepare for. You will be safe, and well, and very ready to embrace the new world.
I am not wicked, but I am a witch, and changes are made when the world bends and shifts. I hold this hourglass up to you now so you know that the time for an ending is almost upon us. You can see the signs all about you – the strange weather, the hurricanes, the cyclones, the earth changes all about us – but so many simply say I am wicked for showing you this. They blame me for what they call the catastrophes, and they ignore the signs. They are with you, and it is time to be ready. We are all about to experience a huge change – and it will be for the better. But while we hold on to the old, the storms will blast us, and the land will shift, and self-healing will look like destruction.
There is nothing to be frightened of; only a voyage to weather, and you’ll make it through to the other side of the storm. The changes are part of our journey to a fifth-dimensional world, of the shift to a more peaceful planet, where shadows and light are loved and accepted. All is well.
STRANGE VALENTINE
Love doesn’t always look like we thought it would – thank goodness! It’s in the strange and the surprising that the sweetest loves can be found, as this odd little pair have found, much to each one’s joy, comfort, and delight! When this lovely pair, Strange Valentine, comes to visit, you are about to be gifted with love, romance, and friendship from an unexpected, even unusual, place! Don’t let differences keep you apart – because they are what is drawing you together, and when you are as delicate and fragile as you can be, someone as strong and protective as this gorgeous, friendly yeti can be just what you need!
You have an enormous amount of cosmic help at the moment – and it’s all focusing on the area of your love life. You will soon receive very good news regarding a relationship. You will also do a lot of work on healing old wounds from past relationships, especially past long-term, serious relationships. Now, some of this news may not seem so great at the time. But please give yourself a chance to absorb the lessons, because you are moving into beautiful new phase of your romantic life, where you will be free to create a wonderful new love life for yourself. Coming…very…soon!
You may experience a massive surge in emotional energy and in romantic beginnings. So it’s very likely you’ll attract, encounter, or simply bump into someone who reawakens long-lost feelings inside you, and who may not be your “type.” Hoorah!
I love how that reading unfolded, first talking about truth, to changes, to love. Aaaahhhhhh. So delicious lovely. Wishing you a glorious Samhain (Halloween), may your pillow case have wee choccie bars in it, may your nose be filled with fresh crisp air and may your feet jump between puddles and crunch leaves. May you feel the blessings of your ancestors and their love and guidance for you. Allow yourself to feel the energy pull you into our next season and trust in the mysteries and magick that are unfolding. On a housekeeping note, quite a few of you have asked if you can share the readings with friends and family – of course! Also, a few of you have said you haven’t been receiving the weekly readings – remember to white list me and check your junk or spam. Huge hugs and squeezes and see you next week!
